No pantheon is complete without someone to rule over the afterlife and today’s entry in Mythological Figures is one of the most eponymously named gods to do so: Hel!
One of Loki’s three children with Angrboða (her siblings are the wolf Fenrir and Jörmungandr the world serpent), the gods knew from the start that Hel would be trouble. Odin himself threw her into Niflheim to “administer board and lodging to those sent to her, and that is those who die of sickness or old age.” So it is that she rules over the Norse afterlife other than Valhalla, in the Halls of Hel beneath one of the world tree Yggdrasil’s three roots. This realm is filled with great mansions that have high walls and enormous gates, and when Ragnarök comes Loki will arrive with the people kept here alongside him. Hel has a dish called Hunger, a knife called Famine, the servants Ganglati and Ganglöt, an entrance threshold called the "stumbling-block," the "sick-bed," and the curtains "gleaming-bale". Despite her divinity she is not a woman of great beauty however, possessing fierce features, often with a dejected demeanor, and a keen mind. When the god Baldr is brought to her halls she refuses to release him to his brother Hermóðr but offers to let him go if all things in the world will weep for him—yet the jötunn Þökk refuses to so she keeps him.
Design Notes: Odin technically doesn’t have class levels, but Thor and Loki got that treatment so after reviewing Hel’s exploits it made sense to go with a character build for her instead of a monster build. Although it might seem odd for her to have the mind domain it suits the flavor for a “master of the realm” type and in terms of power the cleric is pretty impressive—her average damage is 150 a turn via upcasted spirit guardians for 3 rounds, upcasted spiritual weapon for 3 rounds, and 2 harm spells. Which brings us to a look at the numbers! The DMG came in at 18.833 and the Blog of Holding at 19.33, averaging out to an impressive CR 19 (bigger and badder than the other Norse gods built with class levels).
Hel
Medium humanoid (human), neutral cleric (mind) 20
Armor Class 23 (+2 glamered half plate, +2 shield)
Hit Points 150 (20d8+60)
Speed 30 ft.
Saving Throws Wis +11, Cha +5
Skills History +8, Insight +11, Persuasion +5, Religion +8
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Insight 26, passive Perception 20
Languages Old Norse
Challenge 19 (22,000 XP)
Background: Courtier. Hel is able to use her position as a master of the afterlife to access the bureaucratic functionings of organizations that she encounters. She is able to identify who has authority and influence, what the group is recently concerned with, and how to acquire something from them.
Alter Reality (1/Short Rest). Hel can choose for an ally she sees within 30 feet to change the roll for a saving throw it has failed to a roll of 20, possibly turning a failure into a success.
Aura of Fortitude. While she is conscious, Hel and friendly creatures within 10 feet of her gain a +2 bonus on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws.
Blessing: Darksight. Hel has darkvision 60 feet.
Blessing: Hel’s Master (1/Long Rest). Hel can summon servants from her realm as if she had blown a silver horn of Valhalla, except instead of conjuring berserkers she summons 2d10+2 ghouls.
Channel Divinity (3/Short Rest). Hel can channel divine energy directly from her realm, using that energy to fuel one of the following magical effects.
Divine Insight (2/Short Rest). Hel can reroll an ability check, gaining a +10 bonus.
Divine Intervention (1/Week). Using an action, Hel draws directly from the power underlying her realm. The GM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell or cleric domain spell is appropriate.
Feat: Perceptive. Hel is able to read lips.
Feat: War Magic. Hel has advantage when she is concentrating on a spell and has to make a Constitution saving throw from taking damage, she can wield weapons or a shield in both hands and still make somatic components for spellcasting, and can use her reaction to cast a spell (maximum casting time: 1 action) at a creature that provokes an opportunity attack from her.
Magical Anguish. Whenever Hel deals radiant damage with a cleric spell or cantrip, she can choose to change it to psychic damage instead.
Powerful Spellcaster. Hel deals an extra 5 damage with cleric cantrips.
Spellcasting. Hel is a 20th-level spellcaster that uses Wisdom as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19; +11 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared from the cleric’s spell list:
ACTIONS
Famine. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) magical slashing damage and the target makes a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or gains one level of exhaustion for 1 minute. A target that fails its saving throw by 5 or more gains two levels of exhaustion instead. A target cannot gain more than two levels of exhaustion from this weapon.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage.
One of Loki’s three children with Angrboða (her siblings are the wolf Fenrir and Jörmungandr the world serpent), the gods knew from the start that Hel would be trouble. Odin himself threw her into Niflheim to “administer board and lodging to those sent to her, and that is those who die of sickness or old age.” So it is that she rules over the Norse afterlife other than Valhalla, in the Halls of Hel beneath one of the world tree Yggdrasil’s three roots. This realm is filled with great mansions that have high walls and enormous gates, and when Ragnarök comes Loki will arrive with the people kept here alongside him. Hel has a dish called Hunger, a knife called Famine, the servants Ganglati and Ganglöt, an entrance threshold called the "stumbling-block," the "sick-bed," and the curtains "gleaming-bale". Despite her divinity she is not a woman of great beauty however, possessing fierce features, often with a dejected demeanor, and a keen mind. When the god Baldr is brought to her halls she refuses to release him to his brother Hermóðr but offers to let him go if all things in the world will weep for him—yet the jötunn Þökk refuses to so she keeps him.
Design Notes: Odin technically doesn’t have class levels, but Thor and Loki got that treatment so after reviewing Hel’s exploits it made sense to go with a character build for her instead of a monster build. Although it might seem odd for her to have the mind domain it suits the flavor for a “master of the realm” type and in terms of power the cleric is pretty impressive—her average damage is 150 a turn via upcasted spirit guardians for 3 rounds, upcasted spiritual weapon for 3 rounds, and 2 harm spells. Which brings us to a look at the numbers! The DMG came in at 18.833 and the Blog of Holding at 19.33, averaging out to an impressive CR 19 (bigger and badder than the other Norse gods built with class levels).
Hel
Medium humanoid (human), neutral cleric (mind) 20
Armor Class 23 (+2 glamered half plate, +2 shield)
Hit Points 150 (20d8+60)
Speed 30 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 20 (+5) | 9 (–1) |
Skills History +8, Insight +11, Persuasion +5, Religion +8
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Insight 26, passive Perception 20
Languages Old Norse
Challenge 19 (22,000 XP)
Background: Courtier. Hel is able to use her position as a master of the afterlife to access the bureaucratic functionings of organizations that she encounters. She is able to identify who has authority and influence, what the group is recently concerned with, and how to acquire something from them.
Alter Reality (1/Short Rest). Hel can choose for an ally she sees within 30 feet to change the roll for a saving throw it has failed to a roll of 20, possibly turning a failure into a success.
Aura of Fortitude. While she is conscious, Hel and friendly creatures within 10 feet of her gain a +2 bonus on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws.
Blessing: Darksight. Hel has darkvision 60 feet.
Blessing: Hel’s Master (1/Long Rest). Hel can summon servants from her realm as if she had blown a silver horn of Valhalla, except instead of conjuring berserkers she summons 2d10+2 ghouls.
Channel Divinity (3/Short Rest). Hel can channel divine energy directly from her realm, using that energy to fuel one of the following magical effects.
Mental Interference. When a creature within 30 feet of Hel makes a Wisdom saving throw, she can use her reaction to fray its mind and give it disadvantage on the save. When she is not forcing the creature to make its Wisdom saving throw, Hel can also deal 10 psychic damage before the creature rolls its saving throw.
Turn Undead. As an action, Hel presents her holy symbol and speaks a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead within 30 feet that can see or hear her must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. An undead that fails its saving throw is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is 4 or below. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from Hel as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of her. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
Divine Insight (2/Short Rest). Hel can reroll an ability check, gaining a +10 bonus.
Divine Intervention (1/Week). Using an action, Hel draws directly from the power underlying her realm. The GM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell or cleric domain spell is appropriate.
Feat: Perceptive. Hel is able to read lips.
Feat: War Magic. Hel has advantage when she is concentrating on a spell and has to make a Constitution saving throw from taking damage, she can wield weapons or a shield in both hands and still make somatic components for spellcasting, and can use her reaction to cast a spell (maximum casting time: 1 action) at a creature that provokes an opportunity attack from her.
Magical Anguish. Whenever Hel deals radiant damage with a cleric spell or cantrip, she can choose to change it to psychic damage instead.
Powerful Spellcaster. Hel deals an extra 5 damage with cleric cantrips.
Spellcasting. Hel is a 20th-level spellcaster that uses Wisdom as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19; +11 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared from the cleric’s spell list:
Cantrips: guidance, resistance, sacred flame, spare the dying, thaumaturgy
1st-level (4 slots): command, cure wounds, guiding bolt, healing word, inflict wounds
2nd-level (3 slots): aid, blindness/deafness, detect thoughts, hold person, spiritual weapon, warding bond
3rd-level (3 slots): animate dead, bestow curse, fear, revivify, spirit guardians
4th-level (3 slots): confusion, divination, freedom of movement, phantasmal killer
5th-level (3 slots): commune, dominate person, raise dead, scrying, telekinesis
6th-level (2 slots): harm, planar ally
7th-level (2 slots): divine word, plane shift, resurrection
8th-level (1 slot): earthquake
9th-level (1 slot): true resurrection
ACTIONS
Famine. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) magical slashing damage and the target makes a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or gains one level of exhaustion for 1 minute. A target that fails its saving throw by 5 or more gains two levels of exhaustion instead. A target cannot gain more than two levels of exhaustion from this weapon.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8+2) piercing damage.
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